June Month Current affairs 2018

1) Indian Oil Most Profitable PSU For 2nd Straight YearIndian Oil Corporation has emerged as India’s most profitable state-owned company for the second consecutive year. Indian Oil posted a record profit of Rs21,346 crore in 2017-18, followed by ONGC, whose profit stood at Rs19,945 crore.Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is the most profitable company for the third straight year, posting highest ever profit of Rs36,075 crore.

2) Yuvraj Singh Awarded ‘Most Inspiring Icon Of The Year For Social Welfare’Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been awarded the ‘most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare’ award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare.

3) Kamaljit Bawa 1st Indian to Receive Linnean MedalIndian botanist Kamaljit S. Bawa (president of Bengaluru-based non-profit Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) received the prestigious Linnean Medal in Botany from the Linnean Society of London.Dr. Bawa is the first Indian to win the award ever since it was first constituted in 1888

5) Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN-13 Begins in UttarakhandThe joint military exercise SURYA KIRAN-13 between India and Nepal began at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. The military exercise is a biannual event which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India every six months.

6) World No Tobacco Day: 31 MayEvery year, on 31 May, World Health Organization and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2018 is “Tobacco and heart disease.”

8) Indian skipper Virat Kohli has emerged as the International Cricketer of the Year at the CEAT Cricket Ratings awards, which were presented in Mumbai

9) Statehood Day of Goa: 30 MayGoa celebrates its Statehood Day as people’s demand for full statehood was attained on 30th May 1987, when Goa became India’s 25th state.Daman and Diu were separated from Goa and continue to be administered as a union territory.

11) Kendrick Lamar Receives Pulitzer Prize In MusicKendrick Lamar received the Pulitzer Prize in music for his album “Damn.” Lamar is the first rapper in history to be given the award

12) Ordinance to Set Up Country’s 1st National Sports University Gets President’s AssentPresident Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to an ordinance to set up the country’s first national sports university in Manipur.

13) Government Launches New Scheme ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’The Union Ministry of Culture introduced a new scheme called ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’ to reimburse the central share of CGST and IGST on items for food/prasad/langar/bhandara offered free of cost by charitable religious institutions.

14) Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sworn in as Egyptian PresidentIn Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in for a second four-year term in office as the country faces major economic and security challenges. Sisi won 97% of valid votes in the March presidential election.

15) Pedro Sanchez Sworn In As Spain’s New PMSpanish Socialist Pedro Sanchez has been sworn in as the country’s new prime minister by King Felipe

16) As concern over the Nipah virus infection outbreak grows by the day, killing 17 people in Kerala so farNipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus. NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998.

17) India Successfully Test-Fires ‘Agni-5’ Off Odisha CoastIndia successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Long Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-5 from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. The state-of-the-art surface-to-surface missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has a strike range of 5,000 kilometres and can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne

18) India Ranks 113th On Childhood IndexAccording to a Save the Children’s “End of Childhood Index 2018”, India ranks 113 among 175 countries with regards to where childhood is threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, and child marriage. The child marriages in India have come down to 15.2% from 21.1% in 2017Singapore and Slovenia are placed at the top sharing the first place in the index and Niger figures at the end of the list at 175.

20) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India has increased the policy Repo Rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent in the Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement (2018-19). Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.0 percent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.50 percent.MPC revised CPI inflation for 2018-19 to 4.8-4.9% in the first half and 4.7% in the second half. The MPC stated that the GDP growth rate for 2018-19 is retained at 7.4 percent.

21) Virat Kohli only Indian in world’s highest paid athletes listIndia cricket captain Virat Kohli is among the world’s highest-paid athletes, according to a Forbes’ compilation topped by American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Kohli, the only sportsperson from India to be featured in the list, is ranked 83rd with earnings of USD 24 million

22) World Environment Day 2018 celebrated in New DelhiPrime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the global celebrations of World Environment Day 2018 on 05th June in New Delhi. Prime Minister also visited the exhibition set up on the occasion, themed ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. India was the global host nation for the 43rd edition of this event.

23) MK Jain appointed RBI Deputy GovernorThe Centre has appointed MK Jain, Managing Director, and CEO of IDBI Bank, as the RBI’s Deputy Governor. Jain will fill a position that had been lying vacant since August 2017 after the retirement of SS Mundra.Urjit Patel is Present Governor of RBI.*RBI’s Deputy Governor- NS Vishwanathan, Viral V Acharya, BP Kanungo and newly appointed MK Jain.

24) Polythene to be completely prohibited from 31st July in Uttarakhand

25) RBI to set up public credit registry to curb bad loansIn a bid to check loan defaults, RBI stated that a Public Credit Registry (PCR) will be set up containing information on all borrowers to ensure financial stability.Following a report by *Yeshwant M Deosthalee* headed High-Level Task Force, RBI stated it has considered the recommendations and decided to set up a PCR in a modular and phased manner.

26) Prime Minister Modi reaches China to attend SCO SummitPrime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Qingdao, China, to attend the two-day long 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.This will be India’s first participation in the summit as a full-time member of the organization. India, along with Pakistan, became a full-time member during the Astana summit in June 2017.

27) Operation Nistar: Indian Navy brings back 38 Indians from cyclone-hit Socotra island in YemenIn a swift operation, the Indian Navy has rescued 38 Indians from Socotra island in Yemen where they were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe cyclonic storm hit the area.

28) Mithali becomes first Indian to score 2000 T20I runsIndian cricketer Mithali Raj has become the first batter from the country to score 2000 runs in T20I cricket.Mithali is the seventh woman batter to score 2,000 runs in T20Is

29) Simona Halep wins the French Open title!Halep defeats Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in just over two hours to lift her first Grand Slam trophy.

30) Rafael Nadal wins 2018 French Open tennis titleIt was his 11th Roland Garros title and 17th Grand Slam overall. Roger federer has won 20 gram slams title so far.Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player, currently ranked world No. 1 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals.Rafael Nadal has won most French Open titles (11).He is 2nd highest grand slam winner after Roger Federer.

32) 44th G7 summit was held in CanadaThe 44th G7 summit was held on June 8–9, 2018, in Quebec, Canada. This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings. The 44th G7 summit was the first summit for Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has hosted this summit. The 45th G7 summit or next G7 summit will be held in 2019 in France.

33) WHO commends India for reducing maternal mortality ratio by 77%The WHO has commended India’s progress in reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 77 percent, from 556 per one lac live births in 1990 to 130 per one lac live births in 2016. This progress puts the country on track towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of an MMR below 70 by 2030. India’s present MMR is below the Millennium Development Goal target

34) 12 June: World Day against Child Labour

35) Indian-American Dhivya Suryadevara To Become CFO of General MotorsAn Indian-American woman, Dhivya Suryadevara has been named the Chief Finance Officer of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors.She will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra, 56, who has been head of the automaker since 2014.

37) French Open 2018:The 2018 French Open (also known as Roland Garros) was a Grand Slam tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts.Rafael Nadal was the defending champion in the Men’s Singles and won his 11th French Open title.1. Men’s SinglesWinner: Rafael Nadal (Spain)Runner up: Dominic Thiem (Austria)2. Women’s SinglesWinner: Simona Halep (Rome)Runner up: Sloane Stephens (USA)

38) The Outcome of Kim-Trump Summit-The historical Trump-Kim summit meeting was the first of its kind between a sitting American president Donald Trump and a leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un.US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Unsigned a document pledging to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in return for US providing security guarantees to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

39) US Pips India As Top Greenfield FDI Investment Destination: ReportThe U.S. has surpassed India to become the top destination for greenfield foreign direct investment in 2017, according to the FDI Report 2018, compiled by FDI Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times Ltd. The number of greenfield FDI projects in India during the year fell sharply by 21% to 637.India had maintained the top slot in greenfield FDI investment in 2015 and 2016. However, in 2017, the U.S. reclaimed the spot from India, recording $87.4 billion of announced FDI. In the Asia and Pacific region, *China was on top in terms of FDI in the total number of new projects and capital investment, followed by India*

40) World’s Most Experienced Spacewoman Peggy Whitson Retires As AstronautNASA’s record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired after a 22-year-long career. Whitson, who joined NASA as a researcher in 1986, has spent more time off Earth than any other American, totalling 665 days over three International Space Station missions.The 58-year-old is the oldest woman to go into space and also the most experienced female spacewalker, with 10 missions.

42) India To Host European Union Film FestivalThe European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will premiere in New Delhi at the Siri Fort Auditorium. With a selection of 24 latest European films from 23 EU Member States, this years’ film festival brings some unusual stories for the world cinema enthusiasts

43) Brooks Koepka Wins 2nd US Open Golf Title 2018American golfer Brooks Koepka has made history and finished strong as he became the first player in 29 years to win back-to-back US Open titles at Shinnecock Hills in New York. The 28-year-old Florida native emerged victorious by one shot over England’s Tommy Fleetwood.

44) Renowned social activist and founder of Sulabh International, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak was honoured with the Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize for his contribution to Asia’s development.

45) Shillong Gets Selected As the 100th Smart CityShillong, the capital city of Meghalaya has been selected as 100th Smart City after evaluating the proposal submitted by it. Till now, 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition and with this announcement, selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission.

46) World’s Most Powerful Supercomputer ‘Summit’ Unveiled By USUS scientists have unveiled the world’s most powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer named ‘Summit’ that can complete over 200,000 trillion calculations per second – providing unprecedented computing power for research in energy, advanced materials and artificial intelligence (AI).

47) World Refugee Day: 20 June

48) US Withdraws From UN Human Rights CouncilNikki Haley, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations announced the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing the council of bias against US ally Israel.

50) Governor’s rule in Jammu & Kashmir after CM Mehbooba Mufti ResignsJammu & Kashmir’s Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti submitted her resignation to the Governor after BJP announced to pull out of an alliance with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

51) Microsoft Acquires Education Start-up FlipgridMicrosoft has acquired Flipgrid, an education start-up with an app that lets students record and share videos on specific topics with their classmates.

52) Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian ResignedThe Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) of India, Arvind Subramanian had resigned from the post and will return to the US because of “pressing family commitments”. The announcement was made by Mr Arun Jaitley.

53) International Yoga Day: 21 JuneThe 4th International Yoga Day is being celebrated across the globe today. In India Prime Minister Narendra Modi led thousands of people in performing yoga asanas, in the main event organised at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.The theme for Yoga Day 2018 is “Yoga for Harmony and Peace”.

56) IIFA Awards 2018At the Indian International Film Awards (IIFA), late star Sridevi won Best Actress (posthumously) for MOM while Irrfan Khan was given the Best Actor Award for Hindi Medium.

57) Mongolia broke ground for the construction of country’s first oil refinery with the help of a USD 1 billion loan from India. Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the refinery at ‘Stantsiin Hooloi’ and described it as an important milestone in the bilateral ties.Mongolia Capital- Ulaanbaatar, Currency- Mongolian togrog.

58) According to United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2018 report, number of hungry people in world has risen for first time in more than decade. There are now approximately 38 million more undernourished people in the world, rising from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016.The report is an overview of progress towards achieving 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG), which consists of 17 goals and 169 targets.

59) Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, to succeed Sunil Bharti Mittal as Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

60) 4th International Yoga day celebrated on June 21 with “Yoga for Peace” as its theme *Rajasthan: 1.6 lakh people in Kota set Guinness World Record for ‘largest number of people performing yoga at one place at the same time’.*

61) United States(USA) quits United Nations Human Rights CouncilUS withdrawal from UNHRC citing for its chronic bias against Israel could reinforce perception that Trump administration is seeking to advance Israel’s agenda on world stage.

62) E Sreedharan Committee To Lay Down Standards For Metro Rail SystemsThe government has set up a committee under former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan to lay down standardisation norms for components with an aim to cut costs in the construction and operation of metro rail systems in the country and bring them under the Make in India umbrella.

63) Manufacture Of Oxytocin To Be Banned From July 1The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has restricted the manufacture of Oxytocin formulations for domestic use to public sector only from 1st July 2018. It has also banned the import of Oxytocin and its formulations. Oxytocin is a naturally-occurring hormone which causes uterine contractions during labour and helps new mothers lactate.

Oxytocin’s misuse is widespread in the dairy industry, where livestock are injected with oxytocin to make them release milk at a time convenient to farmers. The hormone is also used to increase the size of vegetables and fruits such as pumpkins, watermelons, brinjals, gourds and cucumbers.

64) US Ambassador To UN Nikki Haley Visits IndiaThe US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley is in India for the 2-day visit. During her two-day visit, Haley will meet with senior Indian government officials, NGO leaders, and the interfaith community to underscore the United States’ shared values and strong alliance with the people of India.

65) Lewis Hamilton Wins French Grand PrixLewis Hamilton (Mercedes) reclaimed the world championship lead with a dominant victory in the French Grand Prix

66) S Ramesh Appointed Chairman of CBICSenior bureaucrat S Ramesh has been appointed as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex policy-making body for indirect taxes

67) Economist Lawrence Haddad, Dr David Nabarro Awarded World Food PrizeLawrence Haddad, who is a British economist and food policy researcher, and Dr David Nabarro, who has worked with the World Health Organization and United Nations on health and hunger issues, were named the 2018 World Food Prize recipients in a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington.

68) Government Approves Draft Act To Replace UGC With HECIThe Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) proposed a draft bill to repeal the University Grants Commission (UGC) and set up the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI). This move that aims to reform higher education in India.

The HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that the draft Act is in accordance with the commitment of Government for reforming the regulatory systems that provide for more autonomy and facilitate the holistic growth of the education system.

69) HCL Tech Acquires German IT Firm H&DHCL Technologies has acquired German IT and engineering services provider H&D International Group. Through this deal, HCL Tech will attain significant in-country front office and delivery capabilities, which will further enhance its domain expertise in the global automotive sector.

70) ‘Sagarmala’ Receives Gold Award At 52nd Skoch Summit 2018Sagarmala Project In Brief:Sagarmala is the flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping for port-led-development of the country through harnessing India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location of India on key international maritime trade route

72) Mumbai Based Swadhaar FinServe Acquired By RBL BankRBL Bank has raised its stake in Swadhaar Finserve Pvt. Ltd to 100% from 60.48%. The bank has bought the stake it did not own from US-based non-profit Accion. Swadhaar FinServe started operations as a non-banking finance company in 2008

73) Dutee Chand Sets New National Record In Women’s 100mIndia sprinter Dutee Chand set a new national record in the women’s 100-metre race when she clocked 11.29 seconds at the 58th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships being held in Guwahati, Assam.

74) Pakistan Placed On FATF’s ‘Grey List’Pakistan has been placed on the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for failing to curb anti-terror financing despite its diplomatic efforts to avert the decision. The decision was taken at the global financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) plenary session in Paris where Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar represented Pakistan.The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system